The new H1N1 flu virus appears to be fairly widespread in the United States and seems to be hitting mostly younger people, with very few cases reported in people over 50, U.S. health officials said on Sunday.

"We think very few of the cases we have confirmed are in people over 50," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Dr Anne Schuchat told reporters in a telephone briefing. "Whether this will pan out over the weeks ahead we don’t know."

The CDC reported 226 cases of the new H1N1 swine flu virus and one death in 30 states. The CDC previously had confirmed 160 cases in 21 states.

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SYDNEY – An Australian traveler was caught with two live pigeons stuffed in his pants following a trip to the Middle East, customs officials said Tuesday.

The 23-year-old man was searched after authorities discovered two eggs in a vitamin container in his luggage, said Richard Janeczko, national investigations manager for the Customs Service.

They found the pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to each of the man’s legs with a pair of tights, according to a statement released by the agency. Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared eggplant.

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MELBOURNE (Reuters) – A four-year-old Australian girl died on Thursday after she was thrown off a bridge in Melbourne and landed in the Yarra River, 58 meters (174 feet) below, police said. A man stopped his 4WD car on the West Gate Bridge during peak hour, stepped out of the car carrying the girl and dropped her over the edge, a police spokesman told local media.

“The child suffered fairly extensive injuries and the paramedics spent some time trying to resuscitate the child,” said ambulance spokesman Paul Bentley.

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The Australian and New Zealand dollars declined as Asian stocks fell for a fourth day, damping demand for higher-yielding assets.

The currencies weakened as reports showed U.S. home prices plunged at the fastest pace in at least four decades and confidence among Japanese manufacturers declined the most on record. A deepening global recession may lead to interest-rate cuts in Australia and New Zealand, eroding their appeal as a destination for funds borrowed in nations such as Japan that have lower borrowing costs.

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INTERNATIONAL jockey Kerrin McEvoy proved he had re-adjusted to Australian racing with a brilliant winning treble at Rosehill.

The hoop’s great day in the saddle followed a Boxing Day double at Randwick courtesy of Serenissima and Referees, both for Darley Australia’s head trainer, Peter Snowden.

McEvoy landed the treble and a race-to-race double on the Adam Spitzer-trained Smart Punch after wins on Chiamaka for Paul Perry and Altavilla for Snowden.

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ANTONINO Lo Presti had just been admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve when he learned he had finally won his landmark six-year asbestos compensation battle with the Ford Motor Company.

From his bed in Perth’s Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the former mechanic found out Ford had dropped its appeal against the $840,000 payout he won in February.

The father of three had made legal history when the Supreme Court ruled he developed the asbestosis that now cripples him while he worked for Ford, and awarded him damages.

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THE Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), a soft drinks giant based in Atlanta, is poised to make two decisions over the next three months that will have profound implications for the future of the Australian beverages industry.

The first relates to an agreement signed a decade ago with global food giant Cadbury, which gives TCCC a pre-emptive right to bid for Cadbury’s soft drink business in Australia. This pre-emptive right was triggered on Christmas Eve when Cadbury announced it had received a 550 million ($1.19 billion) takeover offer for the Schweppes business from Japanese brewing giant Asahi Breweries.

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Australia’s Government has branded as unhelpful and destructive a decision by Fiji’s interim Government to expel Canberra’s South Pacific Defence Adviser.

The unnamed official had been in Suva on a visitor visa awaiting a decision by the interim Government on his long-term visa status.

Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon told The Australian newspaper: “The interim (Fiji) Government has indicated that no visa will be granted.

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CASEY Dellacqua will unleash a new service action next week, which, she hopes, will preserve her career.

Just when Australian tennis needed a shot of optimism, Lleyton Hewitt and Dellacqua will team to make their comebacks at next week’s Hopman Cup in Perth.

Hewitt returns to court for the first time since hip surgery in August, and Dellacqua hasn’t played since September because of a torn ligament in her shoulder.

While Dellacqua’s early exit from the Beijing Olympics was blamed on a case of service yips, the 23-year-old revealed her shoulder had become so tender she would wince brushing her hair.

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THIS is the horrifying moment when a giant shark menaced kayakers off Sydney yesterday.

White pointers caused terror on opposite sides of Australia yesterday, with snorkeller Brian Guest killed as he swam with his son at a beach near Perth.

Sydney paddlers Justin Stanger and Steve Kulscar were lucky to survive, with Mr Kulscar falling from his craft as the four-metre white pointer circled them about a kilometre off Long Reef.

Fisherman Glenn Morgan was in a runabout nearby when he saw a large fin break the water near the kayakers about 11am.

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